Join Us

San Jose Mercury NewsOctober 15, 2008Asian-Americans in California overwhelmingly oppose a ballot measure that would ban gay couples' marriages in the state, according to a ground-breaking survey released today. The poll found that 57 percent of Asian-Americans likely to vote in the Nov. 4 election oppose Proposition 8. Only 32 percent planned to vote for the measure, with 11 percent undecided. [Link]Read more about why marriage matters to Asian-Americans.

The Rafu ShimpoOctober 4, 2008"Just as the antimiscegenation law denied interracial couples the freedom to marry the partners they loved, and just as the Alien Land Law stripped Japanese Americans of the basic right to own and lease land, Proposition 8 would deny gay men and lesbians the right to marry, a right available to all other adults." [Link]Read more about why marriage matters to Asians and Pacific Islanders.

IndybaySeptember 30, 2008The Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (APALC) called for an end to immigration discrimination against same-sex binational couples in a detailed report, “A Devastating Wait: Family Unity and the Immigration Backlogs.” [Link]

Bay Area Reporter February 21, 2008Amicus co-author and nationally recognized appellate lawyer, Kevin Fong, hopes that by reading the Asian Pacific American's amicus brief in support of the freedom to marry, the Court will "have a greater appreciation for what is at issue, by looking at the State's prior exclusionary marriage laws from the vantage point of a longer historical lens. Constitutional issues are much easier to see with 20/20 historical hindsight and perhaps the reaction we have today in examining how Asian Pacific Americans were previously restricted from the right to marry will allow the court to consider its role in protecting the fundamental Constitutional principles at stake as we again consider exclusionary marriage laws aimed at gays and lesbians today." [Link]

Asian Journal September 30, 2007A team of Asian American attorneys and advocates in California announced Wednesday, September 26th that a coalition of over 60 Local, State and National Asian American organizations will be filing a legal brief in support of equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. [Link]

Asian Journal September 23, 2007Over 90,000 gay and lesbian families in California are excluded from marriage; one in 10 of these families is Asian American. By filing this brief, Asian American community, legal, civil rights, and social service organizations — as well as Asian American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations — join together in an unprecedented show of unity and support for equal marriage rights within the Asian American community, as well as to send a strong message to the California Supreme Court that Asian Americans support a just and fair California for all members of our community. [Link]

Nichi Bei Times June 7, 2007Rev. Yoshii pledged his support for LGBT persons and their families as well. He said that the issue is a personal one for API clergy. "We know about laws that have been used against us, to exclude us to, marginalize us, to not grant us civil rights," Rev. Yoshii explained. "That's why we come and stand in support of (the marriage rights) of same-sex couples." [Link]